Category — Home Inspection

Home inspections are a great way to be forewarned about potentially serious problems before you buy a property. A home inspection should be a part of every home-buying transaction, and home inspections can save you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars by identifying problems before you buy. However, a home inspection can’t prevent every problem, so don’t assume that a home protection is a blanket guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong with your home.  

Getting a home inspection is integral to the process of buying a home. A good inspection will tell you about your home’s potential flaws, or confirm that your home is in good condition. Not all inspections are created equal, however, but with a few savvy techniques, you can maximize your home inspection to get the most from your investment.  

A good home inspector will give you a detailed report. You can then take that report to the seller and discuss any outstanding items or issues that need to be resolved. Since you’re getting a report anyway, you don’t have to be present at the inspection, right? Wrong. Being present at the home inspection is one of the most important parts of closing on your property.  

The home inspection is one of the most important parts of buying your new home, and the inspector is the main piece of this puzzle. You need to choose the right inspector to ensure you get a valuable, thorough assessment of your new home prior to closing. How do you choose the right home inspector?  

Every home should get a property inspection before you buy it. Smart buyers make offers with inspection contingencies, that enable them to adjust the terms of the sale or back out entirely if the inspection turns up property issues. Depending on where in the country you live, and what you want to do with the property, you may need additional inspections.  

Patent defects are defects that are obvious and apparent when you inspect a home. You don’t have to be a home inspector to notice water stains, a flooded basement or cosmetic damage. In some cases, these patent defects are minor cosmetic inconveniences, but in other cases, they can herald potentially serious problems.  

Latent defects are the problems with a home that you can’t see just by walking through it. You really need a home inspector to examine the home you want to buy in order to determine whether there are any latent defects. Latent defects can potentially be far more serious than obvious, patent defects, and you could save yourself a lot of money if you avoid buying a house which turns up with plenty of latent defects on an inspection.  

You’ve had your home inspection, and the inspector has turned up some corrective work that need to be done on your new home. You’ve gotten estimates so you know how much it’ll cost to fix the problems. Now it’s time to talk to the sellers, and negotiate credits for corrective work. To do this, you generally have three options:  

When you’re buying a home, you hear over and over again “get the home inspected!” Conducting a thorough home inspection prior to buying can save you a ton of cash, and even prevent you from buying a home that could become a nightmare instead of your dream house. So you know to get an inspection, but what do you do if the inspection yields negative results?  

No matter what kind of home you’re buying, it should be inspected. Don’t assume that just because a home was well-maintained, it doesn’t have any issues. Likewise, don’t assume that just because you’re buying a new home that the builder guarantees, it’s free of construction flaws. Every home can have problems, and all properties should be inspected before you buy. If you make an offer, make it contingent upon the home inspection.